STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — In a year where many have lost jobs or faced other financial stressors due to COVID-19, the three Yampa Valley giving circles gave out record donations, which members attribute to the charitable nature of Steamboat Springs.
The three giving circles administered through the Yampa Valley Community Foundation — WZ Giving Circle, Women’s Giving Circle and IMPACT100 — donated a collective $103,000 to area residents and families in need. A giving circle is a form of participatory philanthropy, or collective giving, where individuals pool their charitable donations and decide as a group where to give the funds.
“You hear on the news that this pandemic has created such an economic disaster, and our community has been very fortunate to be able to be in a place to give,” said April Sigman, executive director of the Routt County Council on Aging, a beneficiary of Yampa Valley giving circle funding.